Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-10-28
A LOT or FAMOUS CRIMINALS
The Colony of New Caledonia Better
than the Slums of Paris.


than the Slums of Paris.
An interesting account Of the present
status of the notorious French criminals in
New Caledonia has been furnished by an Off
cial who has just returned from that penal
colony. The most respectable, as well as the
senior, of all the convicts is Berezovski, the
Pole who fired at the Emperor Alexander II
during the Paris exhibition of 1867. Frequent
applications have been made for the liberia
ton of Berezovski, but they have all been
refused He is now in the island of Nou,
where he occupies little room apart from
all the bad characters, and has even small
garden for himself He roams about the
island, which is one fourth of the size of
Paris, at his own sweet will, and his conduct
has always been irreproachable. He receives
large quantity Of newspapers, books and
pamphlets from different countries by every
mail Berezoyski is now old and feeble to an
extreme degree.
OF different class are Gillies and Abadie,
the murdereis OF the Paris grocer Lecercle.
These worthless are employed as street scav-
sngers at Noumea, and their occupation IS
looked upon by their companions in penal
servitude as good one, for it is easy, and
also enables them to pick up bits Of tobacco
and various odds and ends, including
occasional aims Guichard, who muir
iered a bank messenger at Marseilles, is
doing well as a store clerk, and hopes one
lay, if not to get to Australia, at least TO
settle down in New Caledonia as colonist.
One of the most comfortable and thriving of
The convicts is Fenayrou, the chemist of the
Boulevard Malesherbes, who led the lover of
his wife into an ambush at Cha on, and then
murdered him in most atrocious manner.
This criminal has passed through the various
,ategories until he arrived among the first
lass convicts. He has a share in farm,
which he and his wife superintend, and he
aas under his orders some of the lower class
IF criminals. His life sentence has been
eommuted to one of twenty years. The doc
Tor who was condemned last year for having
sent poisoned game To colleague is giving
satisfaction, and hopes to be able to attain
.he privileges accorded to Fenayrou
On the whole, the educated criminals, even
hose who are undergoing sentences for seri-
1us crimes, are highly spoken of by the gov
arnor of Noumea, and the most unmitigated
rascals are the Paris gamins and the british
peasants or iaborers, most of whom are muir
1erers. Every year tt certain number of these
las to be shot down. The official who uses
ais revolver against the convicts is tried as n
.ormality by court martial and acquitted.
The number of convicts is 10000 or more,
and there are III addition 240 female cnnvicts,
who, however, We're sent out to Nounea of
heir own accord from the Maison Centrale
IF Paris for the purpose of marrying frsl
lass mis1emeanants These women are sd
,ervised by nuns. There are on the island
800 warders The number of first class con
gicts amounts to 1900, and some of them,
ike Fenayrou, have been allowed TO send for
heir wives. The state furnishes them with
agricultural implements, food, and even a
lew head Of cattle, when they are permitted
10 begin farming, and they generally con
rive to do we'll. Another class, apart from
all the others, is composed of skilled trades
nen and mechanics, musicians, and even ac-
tors. These have a savings baHk of their
own. kind Of club, and are almost too pros
porous for convicts. The bandsmen are said
10 be as good as many regimeutal performers,
and they play programmes of select music
before the governors mansion twice a week
| besides giving occasional concerts. From
this 1t will he seen that the life of many con-
victs is far better than that which is led by
thousands in the slums of Paris, and is no
wonder that, such being the case, numerous
transgressors against the law of the land, in
| Guiding those who commit the most terrible
crimes should view with longing and delight
their dispatch to New Caledonia by the elem
| sHt mandate of the president of the republic
London Telegraph